In the Middle
by Botan23
Summary: Gai's team gets a mission that should have been simple. However, when things go terribly wrong, someone's life is in danger.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay Neji. What's the plan?" I asked seriously. We had been sent on a mission to retrieve a scroll. Its contents were not revealed to us, just the security surrounding it.

Lee nodded enthusiastically. "Yes Neji. What is the youthful plan today?" I shook my head at my teammate's determined disposition.

"Lee, it's only a C-rank mission," I reminded him.

Neji looked at me, making my heart speed up. "We must treat this like any other mission."

"I realize this, but--." Neji raised his hand, silencing me.

Neji activated his Byakugan, and I knew something was wrong when he of all people had a slightly astonished look on his face. "We're surrounded."

"What is the plan?" I asked urgently. He glanced at me and fell into a defensive stance.

"Don't get killed." Hearing his reassuring words Lee and I both quickly fell into a fighting stance. I reached for my kunai and drew one in each hand.

The three of us then heard a slightly amused laugh. "We wondered how long it would take you to sense us. We would have thought that with the genius Hyuuga you would have found us a lot earlier." I glanced over at Neji to see how he reacted, but of course, he didn't.

"Come out and fight us!" Lee shouted. I looked over at him and glared at him, and when Lee realized that I was, the enemy shinobi took their opportunity. Kunai, shuriken, and senbon came raining down upon us.

Using my own kunai I managed to avoid all the larger weapons. However, the senbon, more elusive to the eye, managed to hit me.

The same ninja laughed again. "If you insist, we will come down. Kaji, you take the green one. Hisakata take the kunoichi. I'll take the Hyuuga." The three ninja jumped down from the trees, with the one kunoichi in standing in front of me with her hands on her hips. The look on her face reminded me of Temari's.

"Well, Yabun, are you sure you can take him?" the kunoichi said. "He is supposed to be a genius, after all."

The one who was going to fight Neji smirked. "Yes, of course. A team leader should battle the other. Worry about your own fight, Hisakata."

"Are you going to fight, or just act tough?" I snapped, much to my surprise. The ones called Yabun and Hisakata both looked at me.

"So that would leave you to be Kaji," I heard Lee say. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw Neji activate his Byakugan and in the same motion reach forward to begin his 64 strikes. And it began.

The kunoichi threw a kunai, obviously just testing my defense. Not wanting to give too much away I merely stepped to the side. My opponent smirked, which seemed to be common in their group. However, I knew from experience that when someone did that during a battle nothing good would follow.

"You stepped right into my trap." I gasped.

"How could you set up a trap so early in the battle?" The girl did a series of about 10 signs in quick succession, done so quickly that I could not follow them.

Glancing at my surroundings I saw that the kunai on the ground were glowing, and I took an almost wild guess that if I moved the trap would activate.

"Tenten!" Neji shouted at me. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, knowing he could see that slight motion with his Byakugan. "You are surrounded by traps. You have to stay there." I sighed. He had confirmed my suspicions.

"Hn. I'm amazed that Konoha ninja would be able to see my trap. Unfortunately for me, well, more for you, he's right. Take one step and your life is gone."

I threw a kunai at her, and she quickly shut up and defended herself. "The trap is only powered by your chakra, but isn't your chakra. So you should also have to stay still, considering you are also surrounded by the weapons." Surprised, she looked around, and her face turned quickly from victorious to worried. This time I was able to smirk at her.

"Hisakata, you have got to watch your surroundings!" Yabun yelled from his battle with Neji.

"What do I do?" she yelled helplessly, earning herself a shake of the head from me.

"Drop the trap. That's the only way."

I watched as Hisakata gaped at the leader on her team. "If I do she'll get me!"

"Fine. Kaji!" The other two battles stopped. Everyone turned their head to Yabun, including me, even with the threat of an attack. "Hisakata screwed herself again. We need to go." We all watched as Kaji and Yabun jumped up into the trees. I then looked at Hisakata. She was performing more signs and was smirking at me.

"Good luck!" She smiled sweetly at me, and the kunai stopped glowing. As soon as they did though, a barely noticeable mist surrounded me. It was like any other normal mist so I didn't worry.

"Tenten! Get out of there!" Neji had turned his Byakugan to me to see what the mist contained. Judging by his reaction I knew nothing good was going to happen. There were very few times that I had ever seen him like that, and they had all been real emergencies.

I tried to jump out of it, but when I began to move dizziness overcame me. I fell to my knees, and saw the mist dissipate. Neji came running towards me, with Lee right behind him. Before they even got to me though, the world went black.


	2. Chapter 2

I opened my eyes to find myself in a hospital room. Glancing to the side of the bed, I saw Lee sitting there with a sad look on his face.

He sighed and stood up. "Please get better Tenten. Neji and I still have to train. It won't be the same without you." Lee turned towards the door and I jumped out of my bed.

"Lee, don't worry. I'll be there." He ignored me, as if he didn't even hear me. Without responding he walked out the door.

I stood in the middle of the room, hurt by Lee's actions, and then Neji walked in to visit me.

As usual, he showed no emotion on his face. Leaning against the doorway, he stared straight through me, staring at the bed behind me. Dreading what I would see, I turn around.

On the bed was a second me, with so many cords and tubes it was hard to tell what was there. Almost in tears, I turn to Neji for explanations and reassurance.

"Neji," I whisper, hoping he would hear me. When he didn't reply I reach forward and try to touch his arm, folded across his chest. My hand didn't make contact though, only heightening my fear.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a minute. I watched intently, while at the same time I barely saw him. When he opened his eyes, I saw worry. I felt my eyes fill up with tears, although I was ashamed of them.

Gai-sensei appeared behind Neji and looked over his shoulder to the me that was on the bed.

"Neji, I know how much this hurts you, but you still need to come to training," Gai said. I couldn't help but notice how grave his voice sounded.

"Hn." Neji turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Gai there alone.

"Please get better Tenten," he said, mirroring Lee's words. I watched as he walked away.

I knew people couldn't hear me, so to myself, I whispered, "I've got to find out what's going on."


	3. Chapter 3

After I had recovered as much as possible from the shock I had received, I ventured out of the room. I had been here after Lee battled Gaara in the Chunin exam a year before. I was even able to spot the room Lee had been in. A quick glance into the room showed me that it was currently unoccupied.

I walked down the hall, almost aimlessly, listening to little parts of conversations that were drifting into the hallway. Most of the other patients were awake and had visitors and were talking cheerfully. 'I hope I'll be able to do that again,' I thought, then hurried down the hallway.

I managed to find the staircase easily, and nearly flew down it. Even with the turns of the staircase I didn't worry about running into anyone. As I did fly down the staircase I counted the floors I passed.

'Third floor,' I thought. I needed to remember where I was so that I could see my visitors. Even though they couldn't see me doesn't mean I couldn't see them.

"How's Tenten?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I turned to find the source and found them to be about 5 feet away.

"Not well, Shizune," Tsunade replied. "She is unable to breath on her own and is almost unresponsive. Whatever poison hit her we need to find out." I saw Shizune nod urgently.

"Who was there when she was hit with the poison? Neji and Lee?" Tsunade nodded.

"Poison?" I whispered. "When was I hit by poison?" Suddenly the memories of the mission came back to me. "That mist….was it actually poison?" I remembered Neji's urgent voice, telling me to get out of the seemingly normal mist and nodded to myself.

"Tsunade, perhaps we should find out what Neji knows of this poison," Shizune suggested.

Tsunade shook her head. "No. Not while he is training. Wait until this evening." Shizune nodded and walked away from Tsunade.

Seeing that their discussion was over, I walked, once again aimlessly, out of the hospital. The village appeared to be the same as it always is, which was a comfort, thinking about the state I was in.

Letting my feet take over, I strolled about Konoha, until I found myself at the training grounds where Neji, Lee, and Gai were. Neji and Lee were sparring, but neither but much heart into it. Not only that, I noticed that Neji had a distant look in his eyes, even more than usual.

I walked up next to Gai, who wasn't being as loud as usual, although somehow I didn't think that Neji minded. I knew I didn't, but it still hurt to see someone affected so much by my condition. Worse than seeing their pain one at a time was seeing it altogether.

"Okay, stop for now. I don't think we'll be doing much more today, as training without Tenten just isn't right." Lee looked up at Gai, amazed he would cancel training. Neji merely nodded.

I turned and ran in the opposite direction, once again frightened by my teammate's actions. Once again I allowed my mind to wander and my feet carried me to my house. I had always gone straight home from the training grounds, even if it was just to put some of my numerous weapons away.

I started heading towards the door and reached for the knob. My hand went through it and I had to fight back tears.

To try and comfort myself, I said softly with a shaky voice, "My parents are dead, and soon I might join them." A grim smile reached my lips and a tear rolled down my cheek.

I walked through the door, literally, and looked around. Everything was the same and it was obvious that nothing was here for me at the moment. Walking back outside, this time through the wall as an experiment, I wondered where my feet would take me this time.


	4. Chapter 4

When my feet stopped I looked up to see where I was. Almost to my dismay I was back at the front of the hospital. Sighing I went back inside, having the courtesy to use the door.

I headed over to the staircase and decided, in my boredom and lack of things to do, I counted the stairs.

"Okay. There are two flights between each floor and each flight has 16 stairs. That means 32 between each floor and 96 to the 3rd," I said to myself.

When I reached the third floor I realized with astonishment that I was right, and that I talked to myself.

"Well, who else is there to talk to?" I reasoned with myself. Walking into the hallway, shaking my head at my behavior, I saw someone turn into my room. I didn't see who it was though, and curiosity got the better of me.

I ran down the hallway without making a sound, and jumped through the wall next to the door.

Standing next to my bed and the physical me was Naruto. The expression on his face was one of pain and astonishment.

"You can't do anything to help her Naruto," said Kakashi from the doorway. He had shown up without us noticing.

Naruto turned around and I wasn't much surprised to see one of his determined faces. "Sure I can. I can train hard to not disappoint her when she wakes up." The first true smile since I had been in this form appeared on my face and my fist shot victoriously into the air.

"Thank you Naruto!" I yelled. Kakashi, however, did not appear convinced.

"She may not wake up." Naruto's face fell and my mood plummeted. Naruto walked out, crestfallen. Kakashi watched as Naruto walked by him, and then he took Naruto's place by my bed. He just stood there, confusing me. Soon enough though, he sighed and walked out of the room without a word.

I felt tears come to my eyes, and to try to keep them back I paced back and forth across the room, occasionally not quite making the turn and going halfway through the wall. Then, something dawned on me.

I stopped in the middle of the room, and as hearing a voice was a comfort, I spoke aloud, "If I can go through walls, I shouldn't be able to stand on the floor." Sure enough, I began to plummet through the floor and even through the building's foundation.

The first thing I noticed was that, unlike before, I felt the ground beneath my feet. Venturing out of the darkness, I saw that I went right through the pavement and rested on the dirt beneath it.

Without even thinking about it, I suddenly raced towards the forest that surrounded Konoha.

"If I'm right…" Getting outside of the gate I walked up to a tree and reached forward, slowly, hesitantly. Confirming my suspicion, my hand touched the tree. There was a small pond within sight, and I walked over to it excitedly. Getting down on my knees I put my fingers down to the water, and sure enough my fingers felt the coolness of the clear liquid.

I watched as the ripples spread out from my fingers and then thunder cracked through the air and created even more ripples across the pond's surface.

"Damn," I whispered, jumping up and running back toward the village. When I got the paved area my feet did not go through.

It didn't take me long to figure out, of course. "If I want it to be solid…ish," I added as an afterthought, thinking of how I didn't feel the pavement, "it will be. Natural things however I can always touch."

Lightning flashed through the air, and thunder cracked immediately afterwards. Then the rain started. As I could still touch the natural things I was able to get wet, and like everyone else on the street I ran faster to avoid a total drenching.

I reached the hospital fast enough to only become damp, and when I did I saw Neji walking up the stairs. I ran again and caught up to him and then I began to follow him as he ascended the stairs.

He had a slightly hasty nature, and therefore the 96 stairs did not take long at all to climb. The two of us turned into my room, side by side, him being able to go through the door. He glanced at the window, and although we heard the rain crash against it, we could not see outside as it was fogging up.

I gasped as an idea hit me. I walked over to the window and wrote in the condensation, 'Neji it's Tenten.' He blinked, startled, and walked over to the window.

"Tenten? Are you really there?" I would have preferred to nod, but I knew that he couldn't see it.

'Yes,' I wrote. Apparently he had an idea, because he activated his Byakugan, without any warning. Then a slightly astonished look appeared on his face.

"I believe you. I can see you faintly. It looks like chakra your is just creating your form." I nodded, not really understanding, but happy that someone could see me.

I looked at my self that was on the bed, hoping Neji would be able to take a hint, and he obviously did as he looked over to the other me.

"Someone else's chakra is in your body." Confused, I tilted my head to the side slightly. He smiled slightly at my action, which only further confused me.

I walked over to the window and wrote on it, 'Hinata.' I looked at Neji to see his expression a bit downcast. I knew he wasn't that fond of Hinata but what had to be done had to be done.

When I saw that he was looking at me I crossed my arms stubbornly. He nodded and I smirked, victorious.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. She might be able to help us. Let's go." Suddenly I realized that if he were to go out somewhere and talk to me, invisible to the normal eye, he might be considered slightly strange. So of course I turned back to the window.

'You can't talk to me outside.'

"I realize this." Wanting to get back in my body, I walked to the door. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw that he had not even budged an inch. I put my hand on my hip impatiently and once again, twice in one day which must have been a record, he smiled at me, and followed reluctantly.


	5. Chapter 5

Neji and I had gone down to the training grounds, only to find Hinata absorbed in her training. Neji turned around and began to walk off.

"No sense interrupting her training," Neji said to me quietly. I glared at him, and he glared back.

_A glaring contest with Neji,_ I thought. Suddenly I was trying to hold back laughter, and failing miserably.

"What exactly is so funny?" he asked agitated. I only shook my head at him. "Fine. We'll wait." I just nodded, and even if I could be heard I would have nodded, as I had given into laughter.

I saw him shake his head and then turn around. He walked to the nearby fence and climbed easily up onto it. I managed to calm down and followed his example.

I looked at him to see that he was not using his Byakugan and couldn't see me. But I did know that he was still good at sensing other's chakra and could tell I was nearby.

Knowing it wouldn't be much longer I wondered how to pass the time. However, my eyes had managed to find something to do on their own. I found myself staring at Neji, knowing that for a change no one could see me and I could get away with it.

Before now I had never realized how much I liked his eyes. So distant, yet always direct. I knew I could stare at him forever, but forever was shortened as Hinata was released from training.

"Dang it," I whispered as the other Hyuuga walked up to us. She did however appear slightly surprised to see Neji though. They definitely got along better than at the Chunin exams.

"Hello. How is Tenten today?" she said. I had not talked to her much and was amazed to hear that her stuttering was gone.

Neji slid down from the fence and I followed suit. "That's what I want to talk to you about." Due to Neji's serious nature Hinata did get a slight scare. "She's the same as earlier. Use your Byakugan and you'll see."

Hinata nodded. "Byakugan!" With the Byakugan activated she could see me, and when she did she gasped slightly. "Tenten?" I nodded.

"Someone else's chakra is in her body," Neji commented. Suddenly I remembered what I overheard in Shizune's and Tsunade's conversation. They believed it was poison. But did poison put the maker's chakra in the victim's body?

"Tsunade," I said, and suddenly had to find a way to tell them that.

"What about Tsunade?" Hinata asked. I gaped at her.

"Can you hear me?" Hinata shook her head at me.

"No but I can read lips." I sighed with relief, now that I didn't have to worry about that.

"Tsunade thinks this is the result of poison. Neji needs to tell her about the chakra in my body." Hinata nodded.

"You need to inform Tsunade about the chakra in Tenten's body," Hinata relayed for me.

He turned around and started to go towards the hospital. "We'd best do that before it becomes too late to do anything," he said over his shoulder. I knew my teammate well enough to tell that he was not pleased with the situation. I'd have to make it up to him somehow.

"I still don't know what exactly is going on," Hinata reminded us. Neji glanced back.

"I'll explain as we walk." The two headed toward the hospital, trusting that I would keep up. I did, but I wasn't able to hear their conversation.

When we reached the doors to enter the gargantuan building, my thoughts were _Screw doors_. So I went through them like a wall.

Getting inside the horrible hospital we knew what to do. And so we did.

Hinata was the one who found the Fifth. She was behind a group of people behind the front desk. But she had used her Byakugan. (Sneaky…)

We ran up to the desk and Tsunade was able to see that we, well, Neji and Hinata, had something important to say. She dismissed herself from her conversation and walked up to them.

"What's wrong?"

"We know something about Tenten," Neji replied. He was the one that knew the most about this.

Tsunade didn't say anything and Neji continued. "The poison I saw during the battle must have put someone's chakra into Tenten's body, and Tenten's chakra is with her spirit." Neji waited for Tsunade's reaction.

The medic nin sighed audibly. "Come with me. You'll need to tell me everything."


	6. Alternate Chapter 5

Walking down to the training grounds we could only hope Hinata had not yet left for the day. It was still early in the day being mid-afternoon, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Although he couldn't see me Neji knew I was here. He must have been uncomfortable with the whole idea of knowing he was being watched because he kept glancing in my direction, not really seeing me as using the Byakugan in public would create some worry. For a change I had the upper hand.

It was only a few minutes' walk to the place where Hinata's cell trains. It was that way with any cell's area, in case an accident happened. With Lee training, it was a good idea.

There was a fence around where Kurenai's cell was. Neji leaned back against it and I climbed up on it.

For a change I had time when I was able to sit and just…look around. I glanced at Neji.

"What?" He turned his head slightly, showing that he had his Byakugan activated. I shook my head. I did have something to say, but I almost didn't want to say it.

Kiba looked in our direction suddenly. With the sudden stop Shino and Hinata also looked up. The Hyuuga walked over, and fortunately was the only one to walk over.

"Hello Neji. Why are you here?" Then she noticed Neji's Byakugan and activated her own. Upon seeing me she tensed up slightly.

"Does that answer your question?" I saw her nod but I turned away.

"Tsunade needs to know about this," I whispered, knowing it was only to myself.

"Tenten…" I whirled around and suddenly the sign language I taught myself came to mind. But I could only hope that one of the Hyuugas knew it.

'W-e n-e-e-d t-o t-e-l-l T-s-u-n-a-d-e.'

There was a slight pause as the two registered my movements. And then, "We need to tell Tsunade?" Hinata was the one that spoke.

"She is the best medic nin. She's also the one who knows what happened. But what do we tell her? That we're seeing an apparition?"

I glared at my teammate. 'C-h-a-k-r-a,' I spelled out.

"Chakra…What about it?" Neji de-activated his Byakugan and Hinata followed suit. Then he turned toward the hospital.

(Past here it's the same as the other chapter)

"I'll explain as we walk." The two headed toward the hospital, trusting that I would keep up. I did, but I wasn't able to hear their conversation.

When we reached the doors to enter the gargantuan building, my thoughts were _Screw doors_. So I went through them like a wall.

Getting inside the horrible hospital we knew what to do. And so we did.

Hinata was the one who found the Fifth. She was behind a group of people behind the front desk. But she had used her Byakugan. (Sneaky…)

We ran up to the desk and Tsunade was able to see that we, well, Neji and Hinata, had something important to say. She dismissed herself from her conversation and walked up to them.

"What's wrong?"

"We know something about Tenten," Neji replied. He was the one that knew the most about this.

Tsunade didn't say anything and Neji continued. "The poison I saw during the battle must have put someone's chakra into Tenten's body, and Tenten's chakra is with her spirit." Neji waited for Tsunade's reaction.

The medic nin sighed audibly. "Come with me. You'll need to tell me everything."


	7. Chapter 6

Tsunade led us to a small room, white of course, and it contained one desk and about five chairs. Tsunade sat behind the desk and the Hyuugas sat in one of the abundant chairs in the front of the room. I was becoming slightly impatient and began to pace.

"So what's going on?" Tsunade questioned, breaking the silence. I slowed down my movement across the room.

"Tenten's spirit is walking around and her chakra is contained within it like our chakra is in our body. But in her body is someone else's chakra." There was a tense pause.

"How do you know? Can you see her?"

Neji and Hinata nodded. "Her chakra has taken her form and it roams around." I froze, unsure of what Tsunade would say.

"Like a lost spirit, roaming without a cause?"

"No. Wherever she wants to go," Neji clarified. I was interested in seeing how Tsunade would react to the idea of a ghost with chakra though.

I walked over to the wall and leaned against it to see everyone in the room.

"Is she in here?" Neji activated his Byakugan and nodded. "Where?" Tsunade asked, almost nervously.

Neji looked in my direction. I walked over to the desk and Neji's eyes followed me across the room. Glancing onto the large desk I see a pen and notepad, randomly sitting there. Thinking of the floor beneath me I confidently reach for the pen.

It worked and Tsunade's eyes widened until she looked like a goldfish on crack.

I paused for a second then decided to write what I thought was appropriate: 'Calm down. You look like a goldfish on crack.' This of course didn't help so I dropped the pen back onto the desktop (not like a computer).

"I said she was here," Neji commented.

Tsunade sighed. "I guess you have to go to the person who did this to see if there is a cure," she said resigned. "I don't know what to do about this."

Hinata was the next to speak. "Is it the kunoichi's chakra that is occupying Tenten's body?" I nod, knowing she could see me.

Again the hokage sighed. "So who was it?" she asked. Although it seemed like she knew the answer.

"Hisakata," Neji replies. As he said this dread seemed to spread across Tsunade's face like the plague (.).

"Hisakata of the Mist Village. We've had similar events with her family in the past. Yet no one knows how to cure it still."

A silence fell upon us that could have cut through crystal. "Well this is an A or S ranked mission. Do you want to go or should I send others? I should send Jonin or even Anbu on this."

Neji and Hinata looked at each other. "We'll go," Neji said.

Tsunade nodded, reluctantly. "You leave tomorrow morning. I'll inform your senseis so you don't have to worry about that."

The Hyuugas nodded. I didn't since Gai-sensei already knew I wouldn't be there. Plus, Tsunade couldn't see me.

Tsunade stood up and we walked out of the room. Then, another idea came to me. I reached forward and poked Neji tentatively on the arm.

"Tenten?" he whispered. I nodded, knowing that unlike our Hokage he could see me. He turned around and suddenly everything that happened, the knowledge that I could die, that I may never really exist again, overwhelmed me. The next second I found myself wrapping my arms around Neji, my face pressed against him. "Tenten?" he asked, confused.

I tore away from him suddenly, realizing what I did. I ran away from him, going through any walls necessary. Diving out of the building I ignored the tears that freely ran down my cheeks, unseen to all.

"I hate this! I can't talk to anyone. I can't explain anything. If I were just plain alive and healthy I'd not have made a fool of myself. I hate being in the middle, between life and death," I ranted uncharacteristically.

In my frustration I kicked the wall around Konoha and left a dent in the smooth stone. But I felt no pain, an unfriendly reminder of my situation. Dejectedly I walked home to wait for morning to come.


	8. Chapter 7

At home I quickly discovered that sleep was not necessary, and very difficult to achieve. Eventually, in other words in 20 minutes, I put up a target and threw various weapons at it. That became boring so I read random books until the sun came up.

Light began seeping through the windows around 6:30, and since Tsunade never specified a time and I left abruptly, I thought I should go get Neji. So with only a slight amount of light I marched up to his house.

Walking through the streets my main goal was to try not to think, as I knew it would lead to last night's mishap, and if I thought about it I would never be able to face him again. So I didn't think anything except 'don't think.'

Arriving at the Hyuuga's house, I saw Neji and Hinata walking quietly out of the house. A silent sigh escaped my lips. Not needing to breath is different from not being able to, after all.

The two Hyuuga's activated their Byakugan. They quickly found me and walked over.

"Hello Tenten," Hinata said as cheerfully as possible so early in the morning.

I nodded my reply as words were useless and glanced at Neji, who only turned and began to head towards Konoha's gate. Hinata and I looked at each other and shrugged.

The three of us wound through Konoha's streets and made it into the woods, silent besides an occasional bird.

Neji, who was ahead of Hinata and I, stopped. "It wasn't very deep in here that we met up with the Mist Village's cell. Keep your guard up as they may attack in the same spot," he said over his shoulder.

When Hinata and I nodded he continued walking. Making a decision on the spur of the moment I ran up and walked next to him. "We will talk about it when you can talk and be heard. It's not a big deal." Relieved, I nodded…again, and fell back between the Hyuuga's.

We continued our relaxed pace for about five minutes when a familiar event occurred. Weapons of all sorts rained from the trees. The only difference is that the darkness proved troublesome in seeing all the weapons. Fortunately, due to my current state the Hyuuga's had been using the Byakugan the entire time and were able to see the weapons to deflect them. I merely had to stand there.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out. You took less time than all the others." The voice could not be mistaken. It was Hisakata.

"What did you do to Tenten?" Neji demanded calmly.

"So rude. And I was planning on giving you the potential cure."

I had a slight panic attack upon hearing her words. "What do you mean, potential?" I asked, forgetting that she couldn't hear me.

She jumped down in front of us and her team followed. "I mean it may work, it may not. It depends," Hisakata replied, her voice teasing. She was clearly enjoying holding my life above the three of us.

Hinata spoke up next. "You can hear her?"

Yabun rolled his eyes. "Obviously. And see."

An awkward silence fell upon us. "The cure. What does it depend on?" I inquired.

"Everything. How you lived, your will to live, how much the people around you care. Very few people have ever managed to live through it," the third person, Kaji if I remembered, explained.

Once again Hinata commented. "It sounds easy. Where's the catch?"

"Good observation. The catch," Hisakata started, "is that it _brutally _tests your will to live. For a week your spirit, mind and soul are given an extreme amount of pain. You can at any time say you give up. But you'll die." Hisakata smiled evilly.

I glanced at Neji, then to Hinata. Both of them showed worry and pain on their faces.

"With the chakra though we'll be able to communicate with her," Neji pointed out. Despite this I felt myself being consumed by fear. They were the only reason I had survived with sanity up to this point.

"No. It drains her chakra as well as mine from her body."

"Why is your chakra in her body?" Neji demanded somewhat rudely. I could tell he was losing patience

Yabun decided to answer for her. "How do you think your friend has not recovered? Kata's chakra was killing her, keeping her spirit from returning."

I stepped forward and held out my hand. "I'll risk it. Either way I have a chance of dying. I'll take the one in which I may live." Saying that hurt; admitting that you had a high chance of dying was very painful. Hisakata must have realized this, because another evil smile showed on her lips.

"Why don't I give this to someone more solid?" She took the small jar out of her pocket and handed it to Neji. "Since you care so about her so much, I'll be able to trust her possible life in your hands."

The moment she released the potion from her grip heavy mist appeared, product of Yabun's jutsu. "It needs to find its way into her system. And then wait seven days. On the start of the eighth day you'll know." Their voice was disembodied, coming from nowhere.

When the mist dissipated the other team was nowhere to be seen. So for a few seconds we just stood there.

"I'll go back and make sure Tsunade is up and ready for the cure," Hinata says. De-activating her Byakugan she walked back to the village, only slightly faster than the pace we left at.

Neji sighed and walked over to me. "Tenten…" I turned around and gasped.

His Byakugan wasn't activated, and he was looking right at me.

"You can see me?" I say, forgetting everything. But he nodded.

"And hear. That Yabun guy must have used a certain type of mist." The two of us stood there in silence. It wasn't awkward, just us enjoying the other's company.

"Neji?" He looked at me, directly into my eyes. Trying to ignore that it was the first time and possibly the last, I asked him, "About yesterday. You said it's not a big deal. Is it that you don't mind, or…?

He smiled at me, a combination that was another first. "I won't bother arguing with you. You win."

I turned around and took a couple of steps. "If Tsunade is up she's expecting us at any minute. We'd better go."

A hand tentatively rested on my shoulder and gently turned me around. Neji's arms wrapped around me, and briefly his lips met mine.

"In case I never saw you again," he said quietly.

Surprised and unsure of what to do, I rested my head against him. But this time it was expected.

Slowly, Neji and I made our way back to the village. When we did make it to the streets we met Kakashi.

"Tenten?" the masked man said.

"Wait. You can see me?" He nodded.

I glanced at Neji. "The mist," we said simultaneously, surprisingly enough.

"I guess we should move quickly. And on the roofs," I suggested.

We quickly found our way onto the roof of a nearby building. Even faster was the trip to the hospital.

Neji and I got into the hospital and since I could be seen, he used his Byakugan to find Tsunade and his cousin. So of course we were forced to move quickly again, this time with people and slight 'traffic,' unlike on the roof.

Neji opened what appeared to be a random door and we stepped inside. Upon doing so Tsunade's eyes widened.

"I'm sure Hinata explained to you our meeting," I said sadly.

Tsunade nodded, matching my grief. "Yes. Of course. If you hand me what Hisakata gave you I'll do that now," she said gravely.

Neji handed her the little jar that contained my life, or death. Tsunade headed out the door, but turned around to say one last thing.

"Good luck," she whispered, barely audible.

Hinata stepped out of the room as well, meaning that Neji and I were alone. For a few minutes we sat in silence.

"Tenten?" I looked up at Neji. "I just want you to know-."

In the middle of his sentence it felt like someone stabbed a kunai in my side. The pain was so sudden and sharp that I fell to my knees. Neji jumped down beside me.

"Tenten?!" Another stab of pain, this time in my head. After that they were continuous, each one stronger than the last.

I didn't know how long had passed, but when I finally tried to see Neji I could barely see through the colors in my eyes. But I could see that Neji had left.

I was alone.


	9. Chapter 8

I laid on the same part of the floor for hours, trying to adjust to the pain. In life, if a senbon to a pressure point is an inch closer to death, every stab of pain here was another foot. Surely I wasn't far now.

After a while someone opened the door, checked the room with a glance, then locked the door. More time passed and the door was unlocked. The pain was so bad that everything was in black and white. People were mere silhouettes, furniture just random shapes.

Tsunade walked into the rom and everything came back into color. The stars disappeared, along with the pain.

My first reaction was to run up to my room and see who was there. After the 96 stairs I found that no one was in my room a the moment.

Crestfallen I sat down on the floor. Only a couple of seconds passed and the rest of my team walked into the room. When I saw them the pain returned, almost taunting me because I wasn't able to see them, really see them. My existence became a black hell, filled with the pain meant just for me.

Every day went like this. The world became colorful and pain-free, my teammates walked in my room and it became hell. All the energy I had went towards taking the pain and not giving up.

A new day, no pain again, and my team walks in. I brace myself for the pain, but none comes. Unsure of what was going to happen I opened my eyes, not even realizing I had closed them. The world was dark, blacker than any black I had ever seen. But no pain accompanied it.

The world flipped to pure white suddenly, hurting my eyes. Then, there was a strange sensation of being pulled downward, almost more internally. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to follow it. I was being sucked somewhere and I didn't know where.

As soon as this vacuum-like event starts, the world went black again. Only this time it may have meant my death, and I wouldn't know.

When I opened my eyes I tried to remember where I was. In my efforts I succeed in remembering everything with a rus.

Sitting up, I glanced around me and saw my team.

"Tenten?" This was Lee. "You're awake?"

I looked over at him. "I'm sitting up talking to you, aren't I?"

Neji was standing in the back of the room, behind the other two so only I could see him smile slightly and shake his head.

"Now that we know you'll be fine, Lee and I must go because I promised to teach him a new technique today." Lee darted out of the room and Gai followed. He didn't even glance at Neji.

The Hyuuga glanced out in the hallway and closed the door.

"You made it," Neji commented. I smiled.

"Obviously." I sighed and leaned back against the wall. "The whole not getting tired part was kind of nice."

Neji grabbed a chair and placed it next to my bed. "I'm sure if you want to be close to dying it can be arranged," he said.

My eyes shot open and I glared at him. Then I stopped and smiled slightly.

"Wow. Almost dying really changed you."

Of course, my luck was that he mentioned it and I thought of everything, in more detail. I blushed. Fortunately it was only slightly.

"You changed too. Don't bother denying it," I argue playfully.

Neji smiled, only proving my point. "You're right. Before I would never have done this." He leaned forward and his cool lips brushed against mine.

"Yes. And hopefully no one will ever change you back," I said quietly.

For all of about three seconds we sat in silence. It only lasted that long because I remembered something, and I needed an answer.

"Before, while we were waiting for the cure to take effect, what were you going to say?"

Neji paused, and smiled.

He got up and put the chair back. "Guess," he answered, and walked out of the room.

* * *

OKIES! That was the final chapter! Review people! Only The Reading Maid actually reviewed for the last chapter, so thank you very much.

Review or I'll punch you in the face! .


End file.
